


Time Off

by DeVara_Lavellan



Series: Bonding With Wolves [2]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:26:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24633796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeVara_Lavellan/pseuds/DeVara_Lavellan
Summary: Solas and Nira take some time for themselves, away from the pressures of Skyhold. Little does Nira know that Solas has a surprise for her.
Relationships: Fen'Harel | Solas/Female Lavellan
Series: Bonding With Wolves [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1622557
Kudos: 2





	1. Family Reunion

**Author's Note:**

> This short story has not been Beta Read! If anyone would like to Beta read these, let me know! Thank you for all of your continued interest in Bonding With Wolves, I do plan to write more soon!

Cassandra, Cullen, Josephine and Leliana had all agreed that time off for Nira would be a good thing. She had been stressed enough, what with the Winter Palace Masquerade approaching, and the mountain of correspondence that still had to be answered. Solas had insisted that this happen ever since Nira had collapsed from exhaustion at one of their War Council meetings, and subsequently slept for two days.

"You had better take care of her," Dorian had warned Solas. Their friendship was something he could never understand, even after Nira explained what had happened in Redcliff. She insisted that she only loved him as a brother.

"I will. We will be back in a few days." Nira was already saddled on her Wild Hart. Nira was the only being alive in Skyhold that could ride or otherwise control the creature. His own was much calmer. Nira turned in her saddle and waved to her friends, her bow and double edged daggers glinting in the sunlight.  _ Five uninterrupted days with Solas? _ Her stomach did a flip at the thought. Pressing her legs together, she urged her Hart forward to the path out of Skyhold.

They were headed to the Exalted Plains, or  _ Dirthavaren _ by the Dalish. Solas had planned a few days out for just the two of them. They rode in comfortable silence until the sun started to set behind The Frostbacks. She helped Solas set up their tent; they didn't have to go hunting that night as they had both packed enough preserved food for the journey there. As the sun finally set, she found herself twisting her fingers together in nervousness.  _ Why am I so nervous? It's not like you haven't been alone with him before. Ah, but you truly have not. People were everywhere in Skyhold, and you always have at least six guards plus your team with you on missions.  _ Her subconscious was a bitch sometimes.

Solas fed the fire in their small camp, wondering why Nira was so nervous. She kept twisting her hands and fingers together, her bottom lip between her teeth with a faraway look that made heat coil in his chest.

"Nira,  _ vhenan,  _ are you alright?" She smiled at him and scooted closer to him so that their legs were touching and she could grasp his hand.

"Just realizing that this is the first time it’s been just us. Usually there are guards and the others sleeping just feet away, or we are having to sneak around Skyhold." She took a deep breath to calm her fragile nerves that threatened to shatter her into a thousand pieces. Solas smiled down at her. He needed to get her out of her own head.

He gently grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. The skin contact was electrifying. Her eyes darkened, her breathing became deep and rapid, every sense heightened. Nira slowly met his stormy gaze, and all walls came crashing down. She threw her arms around him, pulling him close to her and blasting him with a kiss so fierce, had he not been anticipating this, he would have fallen onto his back. His hands found her waist and he lifted her into his arms and carried her to their shared tent.

Solas gently laid her on her back, skimming his tongue from her chin to her earlobe, taking the small earring she wore into his mouth and tugging on it. Then resuming the path with his tongue to the tip of her ear, gently biting it with his teeth. Her back arched into his chest and he felt the vibration of her moan through his robes. He moved back down to her neck, biting small bits as he worked his way to her shoulder, biting a bit harder, leaving teeth marks in her skin. She cried out and tried to answer in kind.

"Not quite yet,  _ ma’lath.  _ Tonight, you belong to me. Heart, mind, body, and soul." He breathed against her neck, grinding his hips against her, letting her feel how hard she made him. He reached into his pack by her head and pulled out a very familiar length of leather. She knew what he wanted and obliged by putting her wrists together in front of her.

'"Very good my love." She smiled under his praise. He left enough length to tie her arms above her head to one of the tent spikes. He loved seeing her like this. And he loved her for giving him this, the trust and control.

"I hope you aren't overly fond of this shirt," he growled and she shook her head. "Good." And her back was lifted off of the bedroll as he tore the shirt from her chest, using the sleeves as a further form of binding her in place. His eyes raked her with a heated stare, heat pooling at her core. She balanced on her toes to lift herself from the floor so he could remove her leggings. Solas arched an eyebrow in surprise at finding she wore no smallclothes under her pants.

His lips kissed from her ankle to her knee, where he bent her knee and placed it over his shoulder, and continued scorching her inner thigh with a kiss, then he would gently bite, then lick the bite. He repeated this until he reached her core. His tongue found its way between her fold and to the bundle of nerves at her center that he gently nipped and twisted in his teeth. Her breathing intensified as she began to writhe beneath his lips. Once he sensed that she was nearly at her wits end, he stopped to kiss his way to her breasts, massaging each in his hands, rolling his tongue over her taut nipples, and dragging his nails down her side.

" _ Ahn is ra ma nuvena, vhenan? _ " His fingers played at the moist fold, teasing her until she gave him what he wanted.

" _ Ar nuvena mar da'laven dera ma! _ " Nira cried out. Solas smiled wickedly as she answered in elvhen. He plunged two fingers into her, rotating and thrusting slowly as her hips rode his hand. His mouth found her absolute center, making her cry his name several times as she climaxed under his vastly experienced hand. Still he did not relent, wrenching every shudder and moan he could from her until she begged him to stop.

"Solas, please, I need you..." she whimpered.

"I know,  _ vhenan. _ soon." He stood and removed his robe and smallclothes, Nira admiring his form in the firelight. He knelt back down by her side, toying with the wolf head pendant on her chest. He had to find a way to tell her and soon.

" _ Ma’lath? _ " she meekly asked, drawing him from the dark thought. He smiled down at her and kissed her deeply, pouring all he felt into it. She moaned against his mouth as his hand found her again. He laid on his back and allowed her to straddle him, her hands still bound in front of her, forcing her to arch her upper body so that their foreheads were touching. He moaned softly as she lowered herself onto him, allowing her body time to acclimate to his size. She began to move slowly, until they found a rhythm together.

Solas reached above his head and untied her wrists, allowing her to sit up if she chose. She chose to stay leaned into his chest to carve a heated path from his chest to his earlobe. Nira moaned directly into his ear, causing him to grip her hips for control. He lifted her from his lap, and laid her on her chest, maneuvering himself so he was laying on top of her back.

"Grab the tent spike," he commanded her. She did as he asked, and he grabbed her waist, lifting her ass in the air. He had never gone so deep than when he took her from behind.

Forcing himself to slow, he grabbed the silver chain on her neck, leaned next to her and purred into her ear. "Why,  _ ma’lath _ , did you like this pendant?" She was so full of HIM, she could not form a coherent answer in that moment. He demanded an answer by thrusting himself harder into her. She cried out his name in response. "Why?!" he growled as he moved faster. Nira's head spun. They were both so close, tangled in each other, and as they reached their climax, she tipped him over the edge by crying out his real name.

" _ Fenedhis, _ Fen'Harel!" Solas wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her, leaning her head back on his shoulder, Nira crying out the last vestiges of her climax.

Solas had felt the crack in the dampening spell widen, and her magic build. As he drove himself into her one last time, her eyes flew open and glowed a brilliant violet rather than her emerald green. She closed her eyes as her head fell forward.

Nira could not move her body. She was held up only by Solas' arms. He laid her gently on their shared bed, both panting and sweating. She wanted to turn over, to capture his lips before sleep took her. As if reading her mind, he laid himself facing her, brushing the hair from her face and neck. He grasped her neck in his hand and pulled her forward for a long and deep kiss. Her eyes slowly opened again, and he was met with her beautiful green eyes again.

" _ Ar lath ma,  _ Solas.  _ Bellanaris, ma sa'lath. _ " Her gaze and words tore at him and rendered him speechless for a moment before responding.

" _ Ar lath ma, vhenan. _ " He said simply. He kissed her forehead. They spent the night searching each other's eyes for the answer to a mystery that had not been given a voice. Nira fell asleep first, while Solas slowly climbed out of bed to feed the fire outside and clear his head.

_ I love you Solas. For eternity, my one love. _ Her words played over and over in his mind. It had been millennia since these kinds of feelings made his head spin and his chest ache. Even in his youth, he had had dalliances, fleeting romances with court ladies. None of them could compare to Nira. If only he could find a way to give back her immortality. She would be gone in such a short time. And he did not know what would happen to him when he lost her.


	2. Wolf Heart

The next morning, Nira woke to the smell of meat cooking. Solas was not next to her. Nira sighed. Last night was going to have to be talked about. She still did not know why she had called out The Dread Wolf's name. Surely Solas wasn't upset? She rolled onto her side, toying with her pendant and cuddling with his pillow. A sound was coming from outside the tent that she had never heard before. Solas was singing 'Ame Amin' to himself.

The tenor of his voice amazed her, and she wondered where he had learned to sing so beautifully. He was moving around the fire, setting two plates up for the both of them. She looked around the tent for her pack. She needed a new shirt after last night. Nira stood silently, as not to disturb or embarrass Solas. Dressing in a cotton shirt with her favorite black leather waist cincher and her black leather riding pants, wrapping her feet with halla leather, she accidentally knocked the fabric on the opening of the tent, causing Solas to stop what he was doing. She quickly ran her fingers through her unruly hair, settling on just pulling it back from her face with two dragon bone hair sticks.

"Good morning,  _ ma lath _ . Did you sleep well?" He showed no hint of scorn or disappointment from her outburst last night. She nodded sheepishly. Solas walked over to her with a plate and cup of hot chocolate. He sat down next to her with his own breakfast.

"Soooo... you aren't upset?" Nira quickly put a bit of potatoes in her mouth to keep from going on an unnecessary tandem.

"What would I have to be upset about? Nothing about last night gave me reason to be upset by any stretch of the imagination." He glanced at her, expecting an answer. She swallowed and took a breath.

"Because of... well.. you know..." Her pale face went a pale red as she struggled to say what she had done. Solas took her chin in his hand.

"Love, tell me."

"When I called out a different name? I'm sorry, I don't know why I-" He placed a slender finger against her lips to silence her.

"Nira, nothing you did or said upset me. Quite the contrary." He took a sip from his cup and set his plate and cup down on the small table next to the fire. Nira visibly relaxed at his words.

"So, what shall we do today?" She asked. She had never had this much free time to herself, and trying to decide what she wanted to do seemed daunting. Solas pulled a brush from her pack, moved to sit on the log she was leaning on and unpinned her hair.

"First, I thought we could just relax in camp for a while before continuing our journey to the Plains. As for in this moment, I am going to brush your hair." She turned her back to him and finished her breakfast while he brushed her hair and talked more about his journeys into the Fade. He talked about his closest spirit friend, Wisdom, and how it had befriended him when he was just a boy. She finished her hot chocolate, which was overly sweet given his penchant for sweets.

"Oh my Gods, I can barely keep my eyes open after that." She yawned into her hands.

"Come, let's sleep for a while before we leave." He stood and took her hands, helping her to her feet. They went into the tent and laid down, facing each other. This was the only way she could fall asleep now. Holding one of his hands near her face, and her other hand curled around her pendant.

"I will see you in your dreams, my love." He kissed her forehead, and fell asleep next to the flame thawing his heart.

_ Nira was kneeling in front of a prison cell sitting in a field of scorched grass, massive pillars of red lyrium growing everywhere. She searches for the key to the door but can never find it. She pulls on the door with all of her strength, but it's not enough. She can't get to him. _

_ "Tel'vara em, vhenan. Sathan..." He doesn't say anything. He never does. _

_ The scene changes to the main hall. Not again... Then it changes. Solas is holding her hand. _

_ "Solas? Wh-What's going on?" _

_ "Come with me, vhenan. No more of this nightmare." She follows him. _

_ The dream changes again. They are standing in a courtyard of crystal, surrounded by trees and pillars of clear stone. There is music coming from some far away place. _

_ "You don't need that dream anymore, ma’lath." She looks around in wonder. _

_ "Is this a memory of the Fade?" She is like a child, wondering about the world for the first time. He smiles, her reaction warming him. _

_ "Yes, it is a memory. Let the memory fill you. Tell me where we are." She closes her eyes, placing a hand on one of the crystal pillars. Her eyes fly open and search his face. _

_ "Is this Arlathan? Truly?" She twirls in place with the music. He takes her hand and leads her in a dance she does not know, but with each step, the knowledge cements itself in her mind. He knows how important dancing is to her. _

_ "Yes, it is. A small portion, mind you, but Arlathan nonetheless." He continues dancing with her for what feels like hours. It could have been days or weeks, she would not have cared. Their eyes never left one another. _

_ "Thank you for this, my love. This means so much to me. I love you." _

Nira woke, light streaming through the open tent flap. Solas was still asleep beside her, her hand clutched in his. She searches his face, tracing each line and curve with her finger. She lightly presses on the scar above his right eye, wondering where it came from. When she reaches to trace his lips, he leans into her hand. She kisses his forehead and extracts herself slowly, trying not to wake him. They had not slept long, as he wanted to get a good day’s ride on their trip.

The morning air is chilled, the fire almost dying in the cold. Nira grabs a few logs, and stokes the remaining embers back to life, the wood catching easily. She reaches into her pack for an apple and walks over to her hart.

" _ On dhea, Fennas.  _ Are you ready for another long ride?" The hart snorts in response, leaning its head down to her forehead. Fennas sniffs her arm, knowing she has a treat for him.

"Ah, you caught me. Alright. But I get first bite!" She takes a large bite of the apple before giving the rest to Fennas.

" _ Ma fenor sa. Ar lath ma, Fennas. _ " She says to her most favored mount, brushing his coarse hair. She had not heard Solas come out of the tent, and shrieked when she turned around to see him sitting by the fire.

" _ On dhea, ma’lath. _ I hope you enjoyed your dreams last night?" Nira ran over to him, jumping in his lap and knocking them both off of the log he was sitting on.

"Oof!" The wind was partially knocked out of Solas as they hit the ground, Nira giggling the entire time. He wrapped his arms around her, a rare laugh escaping him. They sat up, Nira shaking the grass from her hair.

"You called your hart something. What was it?"

"Fennas. Have I never told you his name?" She knew she didn't, she hadn't known how anyone would react to it. Solas just smiled.

"You know, I'm just going to start calling you  _ ma fen'an. _ " His mind reeled. Her and her love of wolves would be his undoing.


	3. Names

They reached their destination around midday. The summer air was warm, trees around the pillars creating ample shade, and the river rushing quietly by as they set up their camp. Nira sang to pass the time as she built their firepit. She had decided that she could no longer keep her clan name, but was having difficulty finding something meaningful to her. She was in the process of starting a fire when a spark in the grass kindling caught. It had a blue-ish glow to it, clearly of magical creation. She turned and glared at Solas who had a wolfish grin on his face.

"I had that covered, you know. Not everything can be fixed with magic!" She threw a pebble in his direction playfully. The fire was crackling cheerfully as the sun set, bathing the ruins in a fiery ember glow. Nira laid against Solas' chest, her back to him as he read to her from one of the many books he had insisted on bringing. She toyed with his jawbone necklace, his voice telling tales of when there were no humans in the world. A branch snapped in the woods, making them both jump. Nira already had a dagger in hand, Solas always had his staff at the ready.

"Wait here Nira." Solas stood and walked up the stone steps, as another branch snapped and leaves crumbled beneath heavy footsteps. A pair of glowing yellow eyes shone in the dark and a growl, guttural and hungry, sounded from the trees. The wolf stepped slowly from behind the tree she was hiding behind, testing Solas' movements. Nira watched the encounter from the safety of the fire, when she saw the markings of the wolf.

She was grey, her four paws faded to black. A scar marked her shoulder where a hunter had tried to kill her. Her yellow eyes faded to silver at her pupils. They were pale with age.

"It can't be..." she whispered. Nira stood and slowly moved towards the wolf. Solas slid his eyes toward her, trying to reach for her arm to stop her without spooking the creature. She merely waved his hand away, determination set on her face. The wolf paused, looking between the two elves.

" _ Mammae Fen? _ " Nira's voice distracted the wolf's growling. They looked at each other for a few moments when, to his surprise, the she-wolf sat back on her haunches and looked at Nira with what seemed like recognition. Nira let out a sob of joy and launched herself at the wolf, burying her face in its fur. The wolf barked, clearly happy to see the elf.

Solas could truly not believe what he was seeing. Nira was half laughing, half crying with happiness. She looked up at him and grinned.

"Solas, do you remember the story of what happened when I was little?" The canine rolled onto her back, begging for her belly to be scratched. Nira giggled and gave in. Solas nodded, too stunned to trust himself to speak coherently.

"This is the wolf that cared for me!  _ Mammae Fen _ is what I always called her. I can't believe she's still alive!" Nira hugged the wolf close to her chest. More movement in the trees caused the wolf to roll to her paws, throw her head back and howl. The sound brought four more wolves into view, their steps cautionary. Nira looked in their direction and began to cry.

Solas understood now, with perfect clarity, why she had such a love and affinity for them. The five wolves surrounded her in a protective circle and went to sleep. Nira peeled herself away from them and bounded over to the fire where he sat, sketching the scene. Her eyes shone bright in the firelight, joy and happiness etched on her face.

"What a night! They're all still here! Oh, Solas! I could burst right now!" Her happiness meant everything to him. He could never tell her that after she told him about her encounter when she was young, he had searched the Fade and found the pack. In his wolf form, he had brought them to this forest for her. The matriarch of the pack was dying, and he wanted her to see her  _ mammae fen  _ before she passed. Nira jerked him out of the memory with a kiss.

"So, do the other four have names?" he asked curiously. She looked towards her wolf family then back to him.

"I was so young, I didn't think to give them names. Will you help me name them?" The wolf in him growled with contentment.

"Of course I will, my love." The Dread Wolf helping her name four wild wolves? He nearly burst out laughing at the irony of the situation.

"Speaking of names, I wondered if you could help me with something. Since there is no longer a clan Lavellan, I want to give myself a new name. I'll keep my first name, I just can't keep my second name and clan name. I need to move forward now, as me." He played with a strand of her hair as they sat by the fire. He nodded. He reached into his pack and pulled out one of his books.

"Let's see here..." He thumbed through the pages thoughtfully, looking up every few moments to look at the wolves. Nira was watching him, her chin resting on his shoulder.

"Why do you keep looking at them?"

"I'm looking at their markings and colors. While I do that, tell me about them. Tell me what you remember." He set the book aside and picked his sketchbook back up to finish the details of Nira sitting with them.

"Well, there are two boys and two girls. The brown and white one, that's a girl. She was the first of the pack to trust me. I always thought that the mark on her head looked like a star." Solas picked back up the book, mainly for appearances as he knew the Elven word for star. He flipped to a page and pointed to a word.

"Uvun. It means Star in Elven. What do you think?" Nira beamed.

"I like it. It fits her." Solas put the book back down. Nira walked back over to her wolf family and laid her head on the mother's chest. The four others surrounded her, keeping her warm against the chilled night air. Uvun laid against her left arm. Solas flipped to a blank page in his sketchbook and began drawing the new scene.

"This one, " she said, pointing to the male near her right arm. It was solid black except for his left front paw which was white. Light brown eyes looked at Nira, who scratched behind his ear. "He would always stay awake long after I fell asleep, just watching me.  _ Mammae Fen  _ would press him down with her paw, trying to get him to go to sleep." She smiled at the memory.

Solas pretended to read the book, flipping to the page with the name he had thought of.

"Ithelan. It means Watcher. Sounds fitting for him, yes?" She nodded in agreement.

"Did you have pets when you were younger?" Nira asked. "I'm not saying that they are my pets, I realize and respect that they are wild animals. But for them to travel all the way here like they knew where we were, it has to mean something, right?" Solas kept looking at the book. He did have one as a boy, but he wasn't sure how she would react when he told her he also had a wolf. He decided against it.

"No, my sister did though. She had a love for Andruil, so she kept hares. Our mother hated it. So our brother built an area in the woods for all of them." How much could he tell her without revealing too much? She raised her head and looked surprised.

"You have siblings? I never would have guessed. You seem more comfortable alone, so I guessed you were an only child." He laughed.

"No, I had eight brothers and sisters. But being the youngest, I was often left out of things. When I came into my magic and realized that I had a talent for Fade-walking, I tried to spend as much time as I could in the Fade. I treasured my dreams."

"'Had?' Are they..?" Nira couldn't say the word. The deaths of her own siblings was still raw in her mind.

"Yes. And I would rather not discuss this anymore. Please." Anger at his siblings flared. He may have slept in uthenera for millenia, but to him it was not that long ago that they had risen against their mother, Mythal, and murdered her. He went back to sketching Nira and her wolves.

"Two more names, my heart, what about the small one?" Solas pointed to the other female wolf laying against her left leg. It was a light grey, patches of black and white dotted her fur. Her paws were black.

"Oh my sweet one. She was always so funny! She was the only one I could teach any kind of tricks to. I called her my 'good girl' because she learned so fast." Solas thought for a moment.

"Siona. It can mean either good or sweet. I have also been thinking of what names you could use since you want to change yours. But let’s name your last wolf first." He looked at the last wolf laying against her left leg. It was the same color as their mother, solid grey, but with two black front paws and two white back paws. Nira moved to hug the male wolf.

"This big one here, is all fluff. He's big, but is still a pup at heart. He was the biggest of the litter. Tried to drag the entire body of a deer into the den. Tried to act tougher than he was at the time." She laughed. Solas flipped through his book again, this time, actually looking for a certain name.

"Soufeis. It roughly translates to 'strength of countless wolves' in Elven." Nira laughed, waking the mother wolf. Nira turned and the wolf playfully nipped her shoulder as if to say, "Quiet down child, I'm trying to sleep!" She laid her head back down on the wolf's chest. Solas continued to draw the five of them, finishing the last details while Nira rubbed the muzzle of her mother wolf. He quietly flipped to another blank page and began to draw Nira laying against a wolf, but this time, the wolf she was curled with was himself.

Nira listened to the sound of her wolves' breathing all around her, the sound lulling her to sleep. Her mother wolf licked Nira's hand and fell back to sleep. Solas finished the third sketch and put the sketchbook and the book of names back in his pack. Using the end of his staff, he nudged Nira awake. He knew better than to try and get close to her while surrounded as she was. Nira woke slowly and sat up, gently extracting herself from the pile.

"Thank you for helping me name them. Uvun, Siona, Soufei and Ithelan. They're perfect. You are perfect." Nira pulled him to their tent. Solas watched as she undid the ties at her shoulders, letting her shirt fall around her waist, exposing her beautiful frame. He was instantly dizzy from wanting her underneath him, his mouth watering to taste her.

Nira loved the way his eyes darkened, the small crease between his eyebrows forming whenever they were together like this. The half smile he always gave her, like he was laughing at a secret only he knew. She watched as he flexed his hands, trying to keep his usual stoic control. She played with the ties of her pants for a few moments, relishing how his eyes moved to her hands. Giving in, she undid the ties, exposing more of her midsection to his hungry gaze.

Solas closed the distance between them, pulling her to him. He leaned down, taking one of her breasts in his hand, his mouth finding what he hungered for. His other hand snaked its way into her hair, pulling her head back as he came up to tower over her, the pained hunger in his eyes made her knees weak.

" _ Ane emma, ma sa'lath _ ," he whispered to her, gently scraping his teeth across the tip of her ear. 

"I have been since the moment I met you,  _ vhenan _ ." His hands moved to her waist, pushing down her pants and welcoming the fact that she had no smalls on underneath.

"I want you to try and do something Nira. Close your eyes and picture your aura around you. Now expand it, create a bubble around you." She closed her eyes and listened to his words, suddenly feeling a tingling on her skin. She expanded it and heard Solas take a sharp breath. The feeling on her skin intensified as she felt what could only be his aura slide across her skin.

"What is this?" She opened her eyes to see Solas smiling at her.

"Your magic my love. Your energy. Keep this feeling." She returned the smile as he knelt in front of her, removing her pants completely. She balanced on his shoulders as he helped her feet from the leather. He kissed her right leg all the way to her center, where she felt first his lips, then his tongue. His left hand held her steady as his right hand came up and and grazed her leg with his nails, joining his tongue at her center.

"Solas, I'm stan-" She cried out as he plunged his finger into her core. The combined sensations of his tongue, fingers and his magic were too much as she cried out his name, shaking at how strongly her climax had rocked her. She held his shoulders to keep from falling, her hair spilling over, covering her expression as Solas looked up at her. He stood and lifted her into his arms, laying her on their shared bed. He quickly removed his shirt and pants and laid down to join her, his two necklaces cold against her flamed skin.

"That was.. I can't, I don't have the words." He kissed his way up her chest as her breathing returned to normal. Brushing her hair from her neck, he kissed his way to the softness between her shoulder and her neck. She parted her legs to wrap them around him. He kissed his favorite spot on her body once more before biting her neck and entering her at the same time. She screamed and dug her nails into his skin, feeling something warm run down his back. He lunged at her lips, rolling her on top of him and sitting up.

Nira rode her hips against him, feeling her magic mixing with his, the sensation threatening to overtake them both. He urged her faster, letting her energy wash over him as she released more magic over them both. He leaned his head back to see her head thrown back in ecstacy, except her eyes were not their normal emerald green. They were a violent purple, glowing with her energy. Nira cried out as she felt them both fall over the edge, unable to see his eyes flash silver with his magic as they climaxed together. He wrapped his arms around her, laying his head on her chest as they both tried to catch their breath. He felt her hair on his back as she leaned her head forward. Solas looked up at her, and her eyes were back to normal.

"Is sex between mages always like this?" She could barely whisper.

"Not all the time. But everyone’s magic is different." They laid down facing each other. Nira moved to touch his chest when she noticed her nails were red at the tips.

"Solas, did I...?" She sat up quickly and looked at the nail marks on his back. She gasped at what she had done. "Oh, Gods! I am so sorry! I didn't kno-" He placed a finger to her mouth to silence her.

"If it had bothered me, you would have known. As it stands, we both left marks." He had also accidentally drawn her blood from biting her neck. Her hand flew to the spot and she winced.

"How did we not notice?"

"I was quite focused on you,  _ vhenan _ , so I'm not sure." The lie spilled from his lips easily. He HAD noticed and took joy in the fact that he could affect her enough to do that.

"That you were," Nira laid back down beside him, grasping his hand and pulling it to her lips. She sighed happily. "I love you." She fell almost instantly asleep, the expenditure of mana had wiped her out. Solas lay awake, memorizing every small detail of her face. He traced the line of her nose with his free hand. Then the fullness of her lips. Her slender jaw. Each loop on her pointed ears. How her hair framed her. The line that appeared on her forehead as she dreamed.


	4. A Mother's Death

Nira woke first. It was uncommon for Solas to still be asleep. She appreciated the stolen moments to study his profile. He had started to grow out his hair, which was turning out to be black as pitch. He had a scar on his chest that she hadn't noticed before. It resembled the tip of one of Sera's arrows, tri-tipped and deadly accurate. She wondered with anger who could have done something like that to him. Brushing her fingers across the mark, she looked back at his face, his eyes still closed. She slowly moved to kiss his cheek when she felt a hand in her hair.

"Good morning," he said lightly. He kissed the top of her head.

"Good morning my love." She returned his kiss, sitting up to stretch her arms over her head and slightly arching her back. Leaning forward, she stretched one leg out and laid her head on her knee, grasping her foot. She was doing her dancers stretches, he realized. He stood, letting her finish her stretches while he reached into their shared pack for clothes.

"Do you think they are still here? I hope so." The happiness in her voice tugged at his heart, knowing what she would find when she went outside. She finished her stretches and put on her hunting clothes, wearing her summer footwraps. She left the tent to restart the fire and dig in her pack for one of the apples she had brought. Solas could hear her humming as she moved around the camp. He opened the tent and watched her as she started singing and dancing around the fire. It was a dance to Sylaise. One of thanks for the warmth of the home and hearth, thanks for the bounty that fire could bring. How she could still manage the footwork of her dance on the stone floor amazed him. He loved that she seemed comfortable dancing again. She ended her song and dance by kneeling at the edge of the fire and throwing in a couple of Crystal Grace blooms.

"That was beautiful to watch," He told her, as she looked up to meet his gaze, a slight sheen on her skin. She smiled, taking small sips of water from the cup that sat next to her. Solas walked over to join her, pulling her back against his chest as he leaned against the log he had dragged over for them to sit on.

"They're still here," Nira said, pointing to the five wolves still sleeping by the camp. She smiled. Solas looked at the family. The four siblings slept in a circle around their mother, who he could tell was barely breathing. Nira finished her small breakfast and walked over to her wolves. Uvun raised her head to see who was approaching and whined at Nira. The sound woke the others. Soufeis was nearest to his mother's head and licked her muzzle. Their mother opened her eyes to look at Nira.

" _ Mammae Fen _ ? What's wrong?" She knelt down next to her, pushing Siona out of the way and pulling her mother's head into her lap.

"Solas, something is wrong. Is there anything you can do?" He heard the desperation creeping into her voice. Solas stood and walked over to them, Soufeis growling at him as he approached.

" _ Atish, Soufeis! _ " She scolded the wolf. Solas sat down next to Nira, brushing his hand over the mother wolf's head. Her ears were burning to the touch with fever and her breathing was shallow.

"Nira, I'm sorry. There isn't anything I can do. She is old. It's just her time now." Nira pulled the wolf further to her as Solas ran his hand through Nira's hair, trying to comfort her. Her mother lifted her head to give Nira a lick to her cheek, wiping the silent tears away.

" _ Ar lath ma, Mammae Fen. Bellanaris, _ " The wolf went limp in her arms as she slipped away. The four sibling wolves all began howling their grief at the loss. There were no words he could give her, no magic in the world that could comfort her.

"Nira,  _ vhenan _ . I cannot bring her back, but there is something I could do." He hoped she didn't think him insane for the idea that sparked in his head. She sniffed back her tears and wiped her eyes.

"I can give you her pelt. To keep with you." She stared blankly at him for a few moments before nodding.

"I'm going to go hunt while you... I'll be back in a while." She picked up her bow and quiver, the wolves following her into the woods. Solas watched her disappear into the trees, still sitting with the wolf, stroking her fur.

Using his magic, he removed the pelt from her body and using his immolation spell, burned the wolf's corpse to ash. Taking one of the healing potion bottles they brought, he brought the ashes into the bottle and sealed it.

Turning back to the pelt, he laid it out and used pyromancy to gently dry the skin, turning it to soft and supple leather, without burning away any of the fur. He folded it and placed it in the tent on her pillow.

It was well past nightfall when Nira returned, Soufeis and Ithelan carrying a fennec fox each. Her eyes were red from crying. Solas stood from his spot by the log and waited for her to remove her bow and quiver from her back.

"Are you alright Nira? You were gone for quite some time. I was worried." She shook her head and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm far from okay. First my entire clan, and now the wolf who protected me. I can't lose anyone else Solas. I just cannot." Her cheek was pressed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"You are stronger than you think,  _ vhenan _ . You will get through this. I promise." He kissed the top of her head. "I have something for you, wait here." Solas went inside the tent to retrieve the wolf pelt. Nira was sitting on the log, staring at the flames as he returned. He unfolded the fur and cleared his throat to get her attention. She turned and looked at what he was holding.

"Solas, it's lovely. Thank you. Will you show me how to wrap it?" He placed in over her right shoulder, tucking the back under her belt and doing the same for the front. She looked beautiful.


End file.
